Hello readers! I am back again to discuss all of the important elements of the novel, Things Fall Apart. In the past posts, I explained the basic plot of the story, some of the main characters, and the style that Chinua Achebe uses to get his point across. Although those aspects are key to get a good look into the novel, we also have to learn if it is of literary merit. I am here now to discuss why Chinua Achebe and his novel, Things Fall Apart, should be taught at the AP level.
Most of Achebe's books center around the conflicts between traditional life and a new way of life. For example, in Things Fall Apart, the conflict is between native African culture and white Christian missionaries. Chinua Achebe tends to focus his books around the conflict and difference between cultures and the struggle with change that many people have. Along with that, he makes it so the main characters have common flaws and their experiences are relevant and relatable. It is important in every book that there is a struggle or event that the readers can relate to, no matter how different people can be. This relatable event allows all of the readers to be more interested in what they read and analyze the novel better.
Achebe stresses the importance of his theme by using literary devices such as imagery, symbols, repetition, figurative language, and diction. By using literary devices, a simple story/idea becomes more complex and of literary merit. Through the use of diction, Achebe uses the Igbo language, which really stresses their sense of culture and religion.
I like Achebe's style of writing because he is no doubt of literary merit, yet he makes the story easy to read. He uses no unnecessary and complicated language, yet he still gets his points and themes across to the reader. This novel would definitely be helpful on the AP exam because of the complexity of the characters. We see Okonkwo and his father as foils, which is only due to his father being a coward, and Okonkwo forcing himself to be different. Although Okonkwo is tough and strong, we also see his thoughts, so we know he does care, yet he does not want to appear weak in front of the villages.
I think this novel should be added to the curriculum because it is very different from the other books we have read. All of the other novels we have read focused on a futuristic/dystopian setting, whereas this is a more real-world setting, yet in an area of the world that we don't hear much about.
Not only do I think Achebe's writing is of literary merit, but so do many others. His novels are read in many advanced classes and he has received honorary degrees from more than 30 universities. Achebe would not have gotten this much recognition if it was not well deserved. The key aspect of all of his novels are that they are relatable to many other real-world situations.
Most of Achebe's books center around the conflicts between traditional life and a new way of life. For example, in Things Fall Apart, the conflict is between native African culture and white Christian missionaries. Chinua Achebe tends to focus his books around the conflict and difference between cultures and the struggle with change that many people have. Along with that, he makes it so the main characters have common flaws and their experiences are relevant and relatable. It is important in every book that there is a struggle or event that the readers can relate to, no matter how different people can be. This relatable event allows all of the readers to be more interested in what they read and analyze the novel better.
Achebe stresses the importance of his theme by using literary devices such as imagery, symbols, repetition, figurative language, and diction. By using literary devices, a simple story/idea becomes more complex and of literary merit. Through the use of diction, Achebe uses the Igbo language, which really stresses their sense of culture and religion.
I like Achebe's style of writing because he is no doubt of literary merit, yet he makes the story easy to read. He uses no unnecessary and complicated language, yet he still gets his points and themes across to the reader. This novel would definitely be helpful on the AP exam because of the complexity of the characters. We see Okonkwo and his father as foils, which is only due to his father being a coward, and Okonkwo forcing himself to be different. Although Okonkwo is tough and strong, we also see his thoughts, so we know he does care, yet he does not want to appear weak in front of the villages.
I think this novel should be added to the curriculum because it is very different from the other books we have read. All of the other novels we have read focused on a futuristic/dystopian setting, whereas this is a more real-world setting, yet in an area of the world that we don't hear much about.
Not only do I think Achebe's writing is of literary merit, but so do many others. His novels are read in many advanced classes and he has received honorary degrees from more than 30 universities. Achebe would not have gotten this much recognition if it was not well deserved. The key aspect of all of his novels are that they are relatable to many other real-world situations.
Megan,
ReplyDeleteI completely agree that Things Fall Apart should be taught at the AP level. Achebe manages to combine easy reading with extremely important subjects, such as colonization and the differences between two drastically different cultures. I am excited to write my next blog post so we can compare and contrast our reasoning for why this novel should be taught in AP classes.
Great Job!
-Julia
Hi Megan!
ReplyDeleteBefore reading your blog post, I hadn't heard much about Achebe's novels, so it was a nice introduction to his style of writing. Your comments about the complexity of characters and character foils is very insightful- it made me think a little more about possible character foils in my novel that could be like Okonkwo and his father.
Have you found any differences/similarities in the relationship between Okonkwo and his father and Milkman and his father, from Song of Solomon? Even though the books have completely different settings, I am interested in what you think about their relationship and if it represents something that is evident in many novels of literary merit.
Enjoyed reading your blog post!
- Emma
Megan,
ReplyDeleteTo begin with, great blog! I thought you did an excellent job analyzing the novel you are reading. The contrast between what you describe as "African culture and white Christian missionaries" seems incredibly interesting.
While you certainly explain why the novel is of literary merit and why it should be taught in AP Literature, you only slightly touch on why it would be helpful on the AP exam. Other than the complexity of characters, I was curious as to what else you thought this novel would contribute to answering an AP Prompt.
-Charlie
If you were to add this to the curriculum, where would you put it and which book would you take out?
ReplyDelete